


if you'll have me

by bastapasta



Category: Corpse Bride (2005)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29379429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bastapasta/pseuds/bastapasta
Summary: It starts with Victor running away. Leaving his fiancée at the altar. How scandalous! But the strange thing is that… there was no known reason for it. No other woman.It is now Victoria who runs. From her family, and the life they had prepared for her. That’s how she finds herself in the woods at night. And how she finds someone else. A bride.Here to taunt her. Or perharps… tempt her?(so the movie but gay)
Relationships: Emily/Victoria Everglot
Comments: 11
Kudos: 9





	1. with this hand

**Author's Note:**

> no one really got what they wished for in this movie so *cracks knuckles* i'm here to provide  
> victor will get a one shot later to see whatever he's been up to, but right now the focus is on the lesbians
> 
> english isn't my first language, also do let me know if i need to tag anything

"What is the meaning of this?!" Victoria’s mother screamed, standing from her seat so fast the chair fell loudly on the marble of the floor.

Her father didn’t say anything nor did he move, as if the news had turned him into a statue from shock… or he was truly uninterested and not even a bit surprised. It was always hard to tell with him.

"Would you mind repeating tonight news, boy?" asked the old pastor with a cruel smile.

"HEAR YE, HEAR YE! VICTOR VAN DORT WAS LAST SEEN THIS NIGHT ON THE BRIDGE BEFORE DISAPPEARING INTO THE NIGHT!" the town crier repeated with an ear-piercing voice and the accompanying shaking of his bell that fell into the heavy silence of the room once he was done.

Victoria wasn’t sure if she could have physically been able to hear anymore after this even if he had continued on. One of her hand gripped the other so hard it hurts, but posed so naturally in the crease of her dress no one could notice. She was suddenly cold. So cold it felt like her skin would crack all over and only one brisk of wind would be enough to fade her out of the room.

It was only when the chambermaid helped Victoria out of her dress that her hearing came back. The old woman kept whispering reassuring words, her shaky voice giving away her emotion. Her hands were shaking as well when undoing buttons and laces.

Victoria looked at herself in the mirror. Her face so pale from shock. For a short moment unable to recognize her own traits.

Her betrothed had left her, only a few days before the wedding.

If it had happened in a book… what drama! She would have turned the pages eager to know what happens next, sacrificing sleep over it, no doubt!

But it happened in her reality, her world, her life. It was about to hurt her family’s reputation, also. People would talk. They’ll whisper around her, and look upon her with pity. Poor, poor young Victoria.

He didn’t just leave her… but ran away from town all together. No rumor of another woman. He only wanted to flee from Victoria.

In her nightgown, sitting on the edge of the bed, she wondered. What about her was so repulsive? She didn’t believe herself ugly. Maybe a bit plain. Surely you could find finer woman. But she came from a good family, had good manners, and was so far away from the worst you could get for a wife.

And she had thought… that their meetings had gone on well. He seemed timid, barely meeting her eyes. Clumsy too. But she hadn’t minded. His smiles were uncertain but sweet. His eyebrows dancing with thoughts on his forehead. So very expressive. Honest to a fault. A bit like a child.

She wasn’t afraid of him, and that was all she had asked for. Her strongest fear was marrying a man like her own father. Harsh, and uncaring. But they had played a tune on the piano together. He even laughed softly, she assumed, from relief of finding out they had at least this one thing in common.

But maybe it had only been her own feelings after all.

Strangely, Victoria had been able to fall asleep that night. She wasn’t sure she felt sad, really. But she ought to be. It wouldn’t do to look at peace with the events. Well...

She was neither sad or at peace. Just.

Empty.

But emptiness was a privilege, she realized, that her family wouldn’t let her indulge in.

They had too much to do, too much to say. Days were so busy, going there and there, being pushed to speak to so many people. The world around her so loud. Her parents doing all they could to survive that last humiliation. Reputation, as always, was to fight for.

Victoria was soon very tired.

It was with great shame that she found herself crying in bed one night. Oh, of course, _now_ she cried. Not when it was sensible for her to do so, when left pretty much at the altar. Not when she could excuse it. Not when… they all expected her to.

Anger rose inside her. What, really, was her problem? Why could she never do anything right? Why couldn’t she please her parents? Why couldn’t she be simply happy? Why, why why?!

Before she could think of what she was doing, and stop herself because it wasn’t sensible, Victoria picked her heaviest shawl. It was long and warm. She hoped, protective enough to go venture outside at night with it on. Hand on the door knob, she paused. Almost long enough to change her mind. Her heart suddenly racing. She couldn’t just leave by the front door. Someone could see and scold her. So she turned and looked at her room, the silence around her like a presence.

This wouldn’t help. It would only make her that much more scandalous. What unmarried young woman with sane mind would wander outside, by night, in the cold of fall, and worst of all alone?

Slowly, she walked to her windows and opened them wide. Stepping to the balcony, looking over to gauge the distance to the ground. Maybe… it could work. Using her bed sheets, tied to the balustrade. Victoria could hear her heavy breathing as she tied the knot. This was ridiculous. Where would she even go?

There was no point in thinking of that. She had to leave this house. If only for a moment.

It came to mind, as she was climbing down her made believe rope, limbs shaking from fear and excitement, that perharps her fiancé had felt the same way.

As she fell awkwardly on the ground, but without hurting herself, she noted proudly; that he might have run away from a life in this family… and not simply from her.

Well, of that, she could never really be sure. But it left a smile on her face, as she gripped her shawl closer to her body, and started running.

The further away she got from her family’s manor, the better she felt.

The pounding in her chest no longer painful, the shake of her limbs only a proof she was alive, the cold air filling her lungs a blessing.

In the quiet of the night you could only hear the frantic beat of her indoor shoes on the pavement, and her iffy laugh. It was new to her; this song falling from her mouth. No longer low and measured but honest to a fault. No longer trying to hide her true feelings. Only stopped by need of air, but quickly, even abruptly, resumed. She sounded unhinged.

In her crazy run, she looked up, locking eyes with the moon who had just jumped from her hidden place behind clouds. The two shared a secret. Victoria had no doubt the moon was looking down to her with sympathy. The figure of a perfect mother; with an ardent smile on her face, proud of being in the known.

Victoria was running away. Fleeing. Flying.


	2. i will lift your sorrows

Walking in the woods at night was a new experience for her. Well, everything about this night was new. Victoria looked all around her like she had fallen into a whole different world. So strange and formidable the sight of, she took every details in to be carefully stocked in her memory. It was only for tonight after all. Before the moon left, Victoria had to come back.

To her manor. To her family. To her life.

The thought slumped her shoulders. But she wouldn’t leave it ruin the moment, she decided, in a jump.

Branches and leaves creaked under her step. It really was different from the town. The trees looking more like sleeping giants than tall buildings. Was it rude for her to be here? She hoped not to wake anyone.

After a while she felt tired. The excitement that gave her the strenght to run all the way over had finally decided to live her body. She let herself fall on a tree that had been laid down by a tempest probably a long time ago, and made an uncomfortable seat.

For a moment, she let the silence be her only company.

Even the air felt different. She could taste it. If the sky suddenly changed color or the trees grew eyes and looked down on her she wouldn’t be so surprised. The image made her laugh, still.

Then she noticed a branch coming from the ground, that looked strangely like a hand. Victoria counted. Yes, five fingers! How creepy could nature be sometimes… but it reminded her of a tree shaped like a hand, palm open to the sky, she found long ago, in her childhood. She had asked her cousin to help her climb it. They had sat in it’s palm and looked at the horizon together. Strangely, she couldn’t remember how the landscape looked, outside of this one tree.

It was a nice memory, though… they didn’t get along for much longer with her cousin. Soon enough he had acted like boys do at a certain age, when a realization seems to hit them out of nowhere, and suddenly girls are nothing but filthy to them. Then, only mean words come out of their mouth, if they ever decide to acknowledge your presence.

Victoria shaked her head to that, in hope of pushing away the thought and fool mood coming with it, her braid slapping her cheeks in the movement.

She jumped back to her feet, the branch still in the corner of her eye. Turning to it and staring for a moment gave her reason to smile.

A gracious bow, nightgown in hands, was her greeting to the hand. She came closer to it, bending her legs just a bit to be the right height and placed her own hand in it.

"Sir..." she started, and after a second "Victor."

She laughed then. Really, it had been ridiculous. Their names so similar: Victor and Victoria! What a couple that would have made.

"I am glad to see you well." she continued "But I have to say you left me in a strange position. Altough… at the altar would have been worse."

She looked at the hand again, wondering if she really would say that if he was in front of her. But because he wasn’t… she was free to do as she pleased.

"My parents were disappointed of course! This is an understatement, in fact! It would be good for you to never show your face around here again or they might try to kill you! Really… what a folly!" she paused "Me?" her vacant hand finding her braid to play with "Oh, I’ll be fine..."

Suddenly a strange worry got to her. If the wood was awake and the trees listened to her little game… how embarrassing! Licking her lips she mentally chastised herself. How silly she could be sometimes! But the wind making the branches dance over her head didn’t help calm her down.

Maybe she would have preferred someone by her side, after all. To comfort her.

Comfort her…?

"You didn’t have to run away." her smile started to fade "I thought… I thought we were friends." vision blurring. She laughed again, but it was now jagged with all the tears in her voice and falling from her eyes.

"I guess I was a fool… but Victor, if you had just spoken to me. I-" blinking rapidly to lose the drops, heavy on her lashes "I wouldn’t have forced you to stay."

She felt fingers close on her hand.

Her eyes grew big but she needed to wipe them with her free hand to be able to see clearly and when she did… something was coming off the earth.

Victoria couldn’t move, or scream. She could only feel all hair on her body raise and her heartbeat panic. The wait for the thing to be in open air enough to be able to tell what it really was seemed never ending.

Dirt was slowly falling of a body.

A woman, by her long hair and dress, but…

It wasn’t, really. Not human. Or, no longer at least. A corpse.

What she had thought a branch was actually bones. Only looking dark by the night and the dirt covering it.

The corpse looked right into her eyes. Blinking.

And then she spoke.

"Why, hello!"

Oh, this couldn’t be right.


	3. your cup will never empty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> changed emily's name to elena just cause

"Who… are you?!" Victoria asked while attempting to put some distance between them, but ended up falling on her bottom with an ‘oof’, the strange woman’s hand still holding one of hers.

"Victor, I suppose?" came the reply, with a chuckle.

Victoria, still sitting on the ground, looked up at the stranger, dumbfounded. Her skin had a blue-ish tone and it couldn’t have been due to the moonlight. More importantly than that, she was missing a nose, and the hand holding hers wasn’t cold because of being out at night, but out of being only bones with no skin covering it!

It took her a moment to remember to breath and find her voice again.

"Do not… mock me! When I was being polite too! Asking who and not what you were!" she had finally blurted out after some stuttering, leaving out she didn’t ask ‘what’ the woman was… mostly for how obvious the answer would have been.

The… dead woman. The corpse with blue skin and bones sticking out from more than one part; didn’t reply. Finding a thin smile more eloquant in this situation.

And what kind of situation was this even…

It just hit her then.

What she was wearing.

A white dress with intricate embroidery and a delicate looking, though in bad shape and dirty, bridal veil.

The woman understood her look and chuckled again, but this time it sounded sad.

"From what I heard… we have a similar story. Ah, well! At least you lived past the embarrassment! Good for you."

With a strong pull she helped Victoria back up. The woman was taller and had naturally wavy hair. Her cheekbones pronounced. While this was probably made more apparent by the rotting process, it was still a feature she would have paraded during her life. She had been beautiful once.

"I don’t mean to pry, but… what exactly happened to you?"

They had still been holding hands till then, Victoria noticed, when the woman finally let go. She walked away, slowly, veil following her as closely a loyal dog would. Something about the way she moved looked ethereal. Like she was too good to put foot on the ground and had decided to float instead.

"My name is Elena," she said after a moment of floating around trees "and you are?"

"Oh, yes!" started Victoria, baffled it took them this long to get there, what would her parents say of her manners… not that they had prepared her in the correct way of adressing the dead "I’m Victoria… Everglot. Pleased to make your acquaintance." she finished with a bow, her braid going over her shoulder in the gesture.

When she straightened, Elena was suddenly so close it made her gasp.

"Victoria," said Elena with a serious voice "do you wish to be friends?"

Blinking rapidly, Victoria considered what a strange proposition that was. This night, in this forest, this branch turned woman… could it get any weirder? Surely not! It was enough for her first ‘adventure’ outside the family’s manor.

Saying yes wouldn’t bring any disaster to her. The situation just couldn’t get more out of control than it already was. And she wanted to say yes. It would be too disappointing to refuse, for both of them! She looked so eager… Victoria found she was too.

"I suppose… I wouldn’t mind that?" Victoria almost whispered, astonished to hear it.

The smile Elena showed then almost made her look alive. Victoria’s heart beat faster when her new friend excitely took both her hands and swung them around. Her happiness was contagious, and they were soon laughing together.

"There’s so much I want to share with you, Victoria! Stories, memories… yes, even the painful ones, if you want them. Oh, and I so wish to hear yours! Such a coincidence your fiancé’s name was Victor!" she said at an increasing speed.

"I know!" Victoria laughed "I’m almost glad we didn’t marry for that alone… ah, but that sound awful! He wasn’t- I mean… from the short time we knew each other, I had nothing to complain about… well, he was clumsy and a bit awkward but-"

"But did he love you?" Elena interrupted her.

"Did he..." stilled Victoria.

The answer to that question was simple, really. He had left her after all. And it’s not like they had been given time to learn to love, or at least accept each other. But it got stuck in her throat.

Ah. She was still ashamed.

Elena seemed to understand without needing to hear it. They somehow had an easy connection. It was strange… but pleasant.

"Is there anything keeping you here?" Elena asked after a moment of comfortable silence between them. And it seemed she had a talent to make Victoria jump from surprise.

"I… well, my parents."

Elena nodded slowly.

"Are they good to you? Are you happy there? Are you..." she had started quickly before stopping abruptly. 

"Satisfied?" came out of her, sounding like an apology.

Sounding like ‘i’m sorry to ask you this’ and ‘i know it isn’t pleasant’ and also somehow ‘but it’s important that you answer it’. Victoria swallowed with difficulty, heartbeat always increasing, this time out of dread instead of excitement. 

Knowing something in your heart doesn’t bear much responability. But once it’s out in the open… she won’t be able to ignore it any longer. Victoria isn’t a child anymore, hasn’t been for a long time, but this is still scary. Closing her eyes and squeezing Elena’s hands, she took a breath.

"No. I’m not."

The forest which had been so quiet till now, expect for the wind shaking the trees branches, all of sudden grew louder around them. Almost like it had been listening to their conversation, eager to know what would come out of it, and was happy to cheer for her. It didn’t seem probable but with everthing that happened tonight… Victoria felt inclined to believe in it.

Looking back at Elena, she smiled. This would be fine, she thought. And like she had just read her mind, Elena said…

"Come with me, then!"


End file.
